


Co-Parenting Space Cowboys

by stinkydog



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:14:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29208717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stinkydog/pseuds/stinkydog
Summary: Self indulgent not-quite fluff. Set after Season 2 of the Mandalorian. Adventures of Din & Luke & Grogru.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Co-Parenting Space Cowboys

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first fanfiction, so please let me know what you think :) Hope you enjoy reading.

The first sign of Grogru’s discontent was R2’s frantic beeping. Luke turned around to find the droid hovering several feet off the ground and screeching. Luke looked down to see the child in his arms with eyes narrowed, visibly straining to keep the furious droid bobbing up and down in the air. He could feel the Force surging through the child. Luke placed Grogru on the ground, ignoring his friends frenzied beeps for the moment.  
“Grogru, you need to be trained. That Mandalorian can’t teach you to harness the Force like I can.”  
He could feel the child’s frustration through the force. Grogru KNEW that but he didn’t WANT to be separated from … Dan? Was that the Mandalorian’s name?  
Luke took a deep breath and reminded himself that although Grogru was old enough to see The Empire rise and fall, he was still considered a toddler in terms of his development. Remembering the tactics that served him so well when babysitting his nephew, he changed course. He knelt and looked the toddler in the eyes.  
“Grogru if you come with me, I’ll give you lots of cookies. I promise. You can always visit Din later right?”  
Grogru looked at him through narrowed eyes and Luke winced. Even he had felt that last sentence ring false. Grogru was intrigued by the promise of cookies, but he felt wanted to remain with Din more than he wanted cookies, or anything else really.  
Luke’s next step rang hollow through his mind. He saw Din alone on the bridge, his helmet removed, bleeding. There was so much blood and he was so cold and his helmet was off and Din/Luke looked up to see Bo-Katan grabbing the Dark Sabre.  
Grogru tugged at his robes and wailed. R2 D2 dropped precipitously. Luke looked down and felt the child’s distress and the danger that Din was in. He rose, scooping Grogru up onto his hip turned on his heel and went back to the bridge.  
Grogru almost fell over with exhaustion. Luke scooped him up in his arms and turned back the way they came. By the time they had come to the warped blast doors Grogru was asleep, snoring gently.  
While Luke and Grogru were arguing about taking Din along with them the situation on the bridge had deteriorated. Cara had slung Moff Gideon over her shoulders, ready to drag him away to whatever the New Republic deemed fit for an Imperial Remnant such as himself.  
Din felt the grief rise in his throat. What would he do now? What could he do now? He had obeyed the Smith and found a teacher for the child. And now he had nothing left. He swallowed his emotions. He was a warrior, and he would follow the Way. He would find a purpose in The Way. The Way was always there, but right now he needed to repair this comms panel and get the hell off this damn destroyer.  
“Do you really think you’re going to hold onto that for long?” Koska sneered.  
“No. Do you want it? Here you go.” Din replied as he held the sheathed Dark Saber towards her.  
“Leave him alone Koska.” Bo-Katan’s voice was strained. Din looked up. She was pale and her clenched fists had pale knuckles. Din realized he needed to get out before someone got shot. He stole a glance at Cara. Her jaw clenched and the hand Din could see was on the blaster at her hip. He could feel the heat of Koska’s glare through the beskar of his helmet. Din ignored her and continued trying to contact Boba. The casing for the comms was badly damaged, but the gear inside seemed salvageable. The tension on the bridge was thick. Cara walked over to him, unceremoniously dumping Moff Gideon on the floor. In the same movement she exchanged her spent blaster pack with a fresh one.  
“What’s taking so long grandpa?” Cara joked, trying to defuse the situation. Her tone was light, but her hand didn’t move off her blaster. Bo-Katan and Koska stole a glance at each other. Her casual reloading hadn’t gone unnoticed.  
“I think the comms panel might have been damaged by the dark troopers reentering the vessel. The outside is pretty bad, but I think the interior will be OK after a few patches.” Din responded.  
“Why don’t you take an escape pod and Fett can pick you up that way?” Koska suggested. She spat Fett’s name like it left a bad taste in her mouth. Bo-Katan shot her an angry glance. Cara took a moment before responding.  
“There’s no shielding on those pods and there are pirates that would LOVE to get their hands on an Imperial Light Cruiser. I think we’ll stay here until Fett shows.” Din shot her a grateful glance under his helmet. A shock trooper and a politician he thought. A dangerous combination.  
A knock on the warped doors. Luke was back, with Grogru on his hip.  
“He won’t leave without you” Luke muttered. “Are you busy?”  
“Absolutely not” Din responded, eager to get off the bridge before things went sideways.  
Cara pulled him aside. “Are you sure of this?” she whispered. “I know Grogru needs to go with the weird magic man, but don’t you have something else to do? What about the Dark Sabre?”  
Din looked at her. “I don’t want the Dark Sabre but Bo-Katan won’t let me give it to her and I can’t put the Remnants of Mandalore in anyone’s hand. It’s too much power. I don’t even know if there are any clans besides Bo-Katan’s left. I need answers and I can’t get them if I’m a corpse in an Imperial Cruiser.”  
Cara nodded and moved her hand off her blaster. “I have a feeling we’ll see each other again. Take care of yourself. And the kid. And the weirdo, I guess, if he needs it.” They clasped hands and parted ways; Cara cursing the comms panel and Din wondering what the hell he had just done.  
The Jedi and the Mandalorian were quiet on their walk back to Luke’s ship. Grogru snored in Luke’s arms, and their steps were loud in the empty hallways. Neither of them said a word as they boarded the ship and secured Grogru.  
Din was the first to break the silence. “Where are we going?”  
Luke turned to him. “I was planning on bringing him to Coruscant. I have the resources to train him there, and there are other young ones for him to make friends with. You ok with that?”  
Din shrugged. “Sounds like a good plan.”  
The flight to Coruscant was silent. Grogru slept the whole way and neither man felt like making conversation. Din’s thoughts were racing. Was he abandoning The Way by choosing to stay with his foundling? ? He had just left one of the very few people in the galaxy that he trusted to protect his foundling. The Armorer is gone, and she’s probably dead. All the members of his covert were probably dead. He had searched for fellow Mandalorians like himself and found none. He might be alone in the galaxy. Din took a deep breath. He had avoided Coruscant as much as possible, preferring to keep a low profile to avoid drawing attention to the covert. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to go to the city planet. He might even be able to find some information that could lead him to another covert. He took a deep breath. Yes, that would be the best course of action. Stay with Grogru until he got settled in and take the chance to get information while he could.  
Luke was preoccupied with the child asleep in the bay. He was powerful in the force, there was no doubt about it, but Darth Vader had been stronger. How did he manage to escape the slaughter of the younglings? Were there other younglings out there, hidden away? If so, how could he find them? He could feel a similar conflict in the man who sat beside him as they raced towards Coruscant.


End file.
